Chapter 14: The Sovereign Protocol
The ride back to the safe zone was quiet. Too quiet. Ning Que’s mind raced as he replayed every single thing that happened in the last hour.
The aircraft hovered low over the dying forest, its engines slicing through the silence like blades. Inside, the atmosphere was ice-cold. Viera knelt beside Denz, her hands pressed against his chest, channeling mana through the threads of corruption embedded in his veins. His skin was pale, jaw slack, breath shallow. His veins were visible, and black.
"He’s not dying," she murmured. "But he’s not here, either." It was a strange sensation.
"What does that mean?" Aeris asked, the clip in her voice impossible to ignore.
"The beast’s shadow didn’t infect his body. It infected his mind." Viera said softly, afraid of her own words.
Ning Que sat in the farthest seat, arms folded, no cuffs this time. But no one would’ve blamed them if there were. The others kept their distance from him. Linx hadn’t spoken a word since they left the site. His knuckles were white on the straps. He might have been the bubbly one, but he retreated into his shell now.
Aeris stared at Ning across the hold. "You’re lucky I didn’t put a blade through your heart." Resentment, anger, frustration, it all filled her.
He didn’t respond.
"I don’t care if that thing bowed to you or called you king of the stars. You do anything I don’t like, and I’ll end it. Reclaimer or not." She spat.
Still, Ning remained silent. He was trying not to scream. Not because of her words, but because of the system that wouldn’t shut up.
{Sovereign Protocol initializing...}